Find Collections     University Libraries     University at Albany

UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

Finding Aid for the
ADELPHOI LITERARY SOCIETY
RECORDS, 1902-1913, 1924-1931
(UA-800.010)

VOLUME: .33 cubic feet

ACQUISITION: All items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Kenneth D. Mosher, Jr., Class of 1946 in 1998.

ACCESS: Access to this record group is unrestricted except where otherwise noted in the finding aid.

COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Administrative History

Scope and Content Note

Box and Folder List:

• Series 1: Meeting Minutes, 1902-1913

Adelphoi Literary Society
Administrative History

Back to table of contents

The Adelphoi Literary Society was one of the fraternal organizations for students attending the New York State Normal College High School / Milne High School, the practice teaching school for the New York State Normal College / New York State College for Teachers State University College of Education at Albany. The Adelphoi Literary Society was founded between 1890 and 1895.2 The society participated in a number of academic, as well as social activities. The society held literary readings at most meetings.3 One Adelphoian policy was to train its members in public speaking.4 The group held many mock trials' and debates. The debates usually followed political topics of the day such as, "women's suffrage"5 or historically political topics such as, "who was the greater man Washington or Lincoln." 6 The society also organized many social outings each semester, like in 1907 a yachting party on the Hudson7, in 1913 sleigh rides at the Canton Hotel 8, and in 1915 they held their annual picnic at Indian Ladder.9 The Adelphoi Literary Society appears to have remained in existence until 1960. In the December 21, 1960 edition of the Crimson and White, the Milne High newspaper, Gay Dexter reported that Dr. Carlton Moose, the faculty advisor, recommended that the Adelphoi Literary Society be discontinued for lack of interest. Dr. Moose commented that the society had only six members at this point and had "lost sight of their original function as a literary society."10 During the years from the founding in the 1890s to its discontinuation in 1960 the society provided an academic and social outlet for many of Milne's male students. Additional information about the Adelphoi Literary Society can be found in The Crimson and White, the Milne High School literary magazine; Crimson and White, the Milne High School's newspaper; and Bricks and Ivy, the Milne High School yearbook.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes

Back to History

1. For Youth and the State 1845-1940. 1890-1940: The Milne School of the New York State College for Teachers. Albany, New York. 1940, p. 14. There is some confusion about the exact date. A review of available sources was unable to reveal the exact year the society was founded. The June 1913 issue of The Crimson and White (literary magazine) on page 139 has an ambiguous reference to the organization entering its 62nd year.
2. Adelphoi Literary Society, Minutes, 1902-1913.
3. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) December 1913, p. 49.
4. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) December 1914, p. 42.
5. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) February 1912, p. 62-3.
6. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) April 1913, p. 101.
7. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) June 1907, p. 120.
8. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) April 1911, p. 101.
9. The Crimson and White. (literary magazine) June 1915, p. 128-9.
10. Crimson and White. (newspaper) December 21, 1960, p. 2.

Adelphoi Literary Society
Scope & Content Note

Back to table of contents

The Adelphoi Literary Society records consist of two secretary's meeting minutes books spanning the years 1902-1913, 1924-1931. No constitution or by-laws for the organization were found. The minutes contain attendance rolls and routine proceedings of the meetings as handwritten by the secretary. The secretaries recorded information about the installation of officers, literary programs, critics reports, reports of committees, and new and unfinished business. The literary programs included readings, recitations, debates, and mock trials. Each meeting appears to either begin or end with a prayer.

The minutes in the first book cover the time period of September 26, 1902 to January 20, 1905. The second minute book begins on January 12, 1906 and continues through November 15, 1913. A note in the beginning of the second minute book explains that all the minutes subsequent to January 20, 1905 through January 1906 were destroyed in the fire of the State Normal College on January 8, 1906, along with other property of the fraternity. Adelphoi Literary Society meeting minutes dating from September 27, 1924 to April 8, 1931 are available in the University Archives record group entitled Milne School Records series 11, Student Groups, box 1, Adelphoi Literary Society Minutes, 1924-1931. Additional information about the Adelphoi Literary Society can also be found in the Milne School Records (UA-659), Series 10: Student Publications, or in the University Archives Publications Collection, in such publications as The Crimson and White, June 1905-June 1938, the Milne High School literary magazine; Crimson and White, October 1931-Fall 1974, the Milne High School's newspaper; and Bricks and Ivy, 1939-1977, the Milne High School yearbook.

Adelphoi Literary Society
Box and Folder List

Back to table of contents

Series 1: Meeting Minutes, 1902-1913

Box 1

Secretary's Book, Meeting Minutes, 1902-1905
Secretary's Book, Meeting Minutes, 1906-1913